Tractor chair cushion device

ABSTRACT

The invention comprises a tractor cab having a drivers chair therein. A plurality of shock absorbing means are mounted between the tractor cabs and the chair and extend upward and downward from the chair to the cab to cushion the movement of the chair relative to the cab either upward or downward or to one side or the other relative to the cab.

This is a continuation-in-part of my co-pending patent application, Ser.No. 361,484, filed May 18, 1973 now abandoned.

This invention relates to tractor chairs.

It is an object of the invention to provide a novel suspended tractorchain which is cushioned from the top and the bottom of the cab.

It is another object of the invention to provide a novel means ofcushioning and suspending a tractor chain relative to the cab of thetractor.

It is another object of the invention to provide a novel tractorsuspension device having a tractor chair with shock absorbing meanswhich suspends and cushions the chain from upward or downward movementor movement to one side or the other relative to the tractor cab.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentas the description proceeds and when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the tractor chair suspension andcushioning invention.

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the tractor chair suspension andcushioning invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the tractor chair suspension andcushioning invention.

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of a modified form of the tractorcushioning invention.

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the modified form of the invention.

Briefly stated, the invention comprises a tractor cab having a driver'schair therein, a plurality of shock absorbing means having their upperends mounted to the top of the cab and their lower ends attached to thechain, a second plurality of shock absorbing means having their lowerends extending outwardly from the sides of the chair and attached to thefloor, and their upper ends attached to the chair to suspend the chairrelative to the cab and cushion the movement of the chair in either anupward or downward movement or to one side or the other relative to thecab, as well as forward and reward relative to the cab.

The invention also has elastic cushioning means having its one endattached to the rear of the chair and its other end attached to thefloor of the cab in front of the chair to further cushion the rearwardmovement of the chair relative to the cab.

Referring more particularly to the drawing in FIGS. 1 and 2, the tractorchair cushioning and suspension invention 20 is illustrated as having aconventional tractor cab 21 with a chair 22 for driver of the tractor tosit upon while operating the tractor.

The tractor cab 21 is conventional having a front wall 23 with awindshield 24 for the driver to look through, when driving the tractorforward. The tractor cab has conventional side doors and controls notshown for entry into the tractor cab and for operating the tractor.

The tractor cab has a top or ceiling 25 and a floor 26 and a back wall26'. The chair 22 has a seat 27 and a back 28 fixed to the seat. A pairof L-shaped rod arm rests 29 and 30 are fixed to the chair. One end 31of the arm rests 29 and 30 are fixed to the back 28 and their other ends32 are fixed to the seat of the chair.

A pair of U-shaped reings 33 and 34 are fixed to the arm rest 29 and apair of U-shaped rings 35 and 36 are fixed to the arm rest 30 directlyopposite the rings 33 and 34.

A pair of rings 37 and 38 are fixed to the ceiling 25 of the cab, anddirectly above the rings 33 and 34, respectively. A similar pair ofrings 39 and 40 are fixed to the ceilings 25, directly above the rings34.

Three elastic strings 41, 42, and 43 have their lower neds attached toring 33. A similar pair of elastic strings 44 and 45 have their lowerends attached to ring 34. The upper ends of elastic strings 41, 42, and43 are attached to ring 37 and the upper ends of strings 44 and 45 areattached to ring 38.

Three elastic strings 46, 47, and 48 have their lower ends attached toring 35 and a pair of elastic strings 49 and 50 have their lower endsattached to ring 36. The upper ends of elastic strings 46, 47, and 48are attached to ring 39. The upper ends of strings 49 and 50 have theirupper ends attached to ring 40.

A pair of conventional hydraulic or air shock absorbers 51 and 52 haveeach a cylinder 53. The cylinder 53 of each shock absorber has a ball53' fixed at its outer end and a socket 53" and rotatably or swivelymounted to the ball 53' to form a ball and socket connection. Thesockets 53" are in turn fixed to the floor 25' of the tractor cab.

The shock absorbers 51 and 52 also have piston members 54. The pistonmembers 54 have a ball 54' fixed to their outer ends and a socket 54" isrotatably or swively mounted to the ball 54. The sockets 54" are inturnfixed to the opposite sides 55 and 55' of the seat 27 of the chair 22.

The shock absorbers 51 and 52 converge upward toward one another to theseat 27 of the chair from opposite sides of the chair at approximately a45° angle.

An elastic band 56 has its rear end 56' fixed to the seat of the chairand its forward end 56" fixed to the floor 26 of the tractor cab infront of the chair.

The operator of the tractor will normally sit in the chair 21 with hisfeet against the front wall portion 57 of the front wall 23 of the cab.

The elastic bands 41, 42, 43, 44, and 45 act to suspend the chair fromthe ceiling of the cab along one side of the chair and cushion thedownward movement of the chair relative to the cab. The elastic bands46, 47, 48, 49, and 50 act to suspend the chair from the ceiling alongthe other side of the chair and cushion the downward movement of thechair relative to the cab.

The shock absorbers 51 and 52 which project upward and converge to theseat of the chair act by the pistons 54 retracting into the cylinder 53and telescoping outward to cushion the upward and downward movement ofthe chair reltive to the cab.

Also, by the swivel mounting of the shock absorbers 51 and 52 at theirboth ends act to cushion the movement of the chair relative to the cabto either one side 59 or the other side 60 of the cab. Also, the shockabsorbers 51 and 52, by their swivel mounting, act to cushion theforward and backward movement of the chair relative to the cab towardeither the front wall 24 or back wall 26.

The elastic band 56 also acts to further cushion the rearward movementof the chair 22 relative to the tractor cab.

The operator when sitting on the chair 22, by placing his feet againstthe front wall portion 57, acts to further cushion any forward movementof the chair relative to the cab. Thus it will be seen that a novelsuspended tractor chair device has been provided which suspends thechair in the tractor cab. The elastic strings and shock absorbers 51 and52 have enough strength to suspend the chair when the operator sits inthe chair while operating the tractor, with the chair in the position asgenerally illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. The elastic strings and shockabsorbers 51 and 52 will retard and cushion the movement of the chairwhen the operator is sitting in the chair and operating the tractoreither upwardly or downwardly relative to the cab or to one side or theother or to the front or back.

Consequently, when the tractor is driven over relatively rough groundwhich will jar the tractor, the suspended tractor chair will becushioned against movement either upward, downward, one side or theother, or front or back, relative to the cab by the elastic strings andshock absorbers to cushion the movement of the chair relative to thecab. Consequently, the operator will have a relatively smoother ride asthe chair in which he rides will be cushioned against sudden or jarringmovements of the tractor cab.

the modification being added by this Continuation-in-Part is illustratein FIGS. 4 and 5. The modified tractor chain cushioning device 20 isillustrated mounted in a conventional tractor cab 21. The floor 22 ofthe cab and the ceiling 23 of the cab are illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The tractor chair 61 is of a conventional type of chair having a seatportion 62 and a back portion 63 with side arms 64 and 64' fixed to theseat portion and back portion on opposite sides thereof.

A pair of air actuated cylinders 65 and 66 each has a conventionalpiston member 67 and a cylinder member 68. The piston members have apiston head 67' slidably mounted in its respective cylinder. Thecylinder member 68 of the cylinders 65 and 66 are mounted to the ceiling22 by link chain connections 69 and 69' to provide a swinging rotatableconnection. The piston member 67 of the cylinders 65 and 66 are mountedto the arms 64 and 64', respectively, by link chains 70 and 70' toprovide a swinging rotatable connection.

The cylinder portions 68 of both cylinders 65 and 66 have an air hoseline connections 71 and 72, respectively, with the one ends 71' and 72'mounted to cylinder portion of cylinders 65 and 66, respectively, toallow air to travel from within the hose line into the interior chamberof the cylinder portion 68 of cylinders 65 and 66.

The other end 71" and 72" of the air hose line are connected to the legs73' and 73" of the T-joint hose connection to an air hose line reservoirtank 74 to communicate with the interior of the tank.

A conventional check valve 75 is also mounted on the pressure tank 74 sothat a conventional type air hose line from an air compressor can beconnected to the check valve 75 and air forced into the tank to provideair under pressure in the tank, hose lines, and interior chamber of thecylinder portions 68 of cylinders 65 and 66.

Three elastic bands 76, 77, and 78 have their one ends 76', 77', and 78'connected to the underside of the seat 61 and their other ends 76", 77",and 78" connected to the floor 22 of the cab in three directions, asillustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, and are taunt so that movement of thechair either rearward, as seen from FIG. 5, or to either the left sideor right side, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the bands 76, 77, 78,respectively will cushion the movement of the chair. A fourth elasticband, not shown, may be added with its one end mounted to the undersideof the chair and extending rearward, to the left and downward at anangle to the floor when viewed from FIG. 5, to cushion the chair againstforward movement.

In the normal operation of a tractor over terrain having ridges, it isthe up and down sudden jarring movement of the tractor which causes themost discomfort to the operator of the tractor seated in the chair.

The tractor chair invention 20 acts to cushion the upward and downwardmovement of the chair and the tractor moves up and down. Prior to theoperating of the tractor, approximately 60 lbs of air will be pumpedinto the tank 74. This air through the air hose lines 73'", 71, and 72provides approximately 60 lbs of air in the interior chamber of thecylinder 68 of both cylinders 65 abd 66 with this air pressing againstthe heads 67' of the piston members. This amount of air under pressureis normally sufficient to hold the piston heads 67' and pistons 67 ofcylinders 65 and 66 in an intermediate position in the chambers of thecylinders 65 and 66, such as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 and suspendsthe chair in its position shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 when the chair is underthe weight of an operator who weighs approximately 180 lbs. when he isseated in the chair and will be sufficient to cushion the movement ofthe chair either upward or downward with the operator seated in thechair.

As the tractor travels over ridges in the fields, at the end of thesudden downward movement of the tractor, the tractor will terminate itsdownward movement suddenly. The chair continues to move downward withthe downward movement of the pistons relative to the cylinderscompresing the air into the tank from the cylinders. However, the airpressure in the tank will gradually equalize the force of the movementand cause the chair and pistons to gradually come to a halt in itsdownward movement and to move gradually back upward relative to thecylinders and return them gradually back upward to their originalposition as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 thereby returning the tractor chairwith the operator seated thereon back to its original positiongradually.

At the abrupt end of a sudden upward movement of the tractor, whenstriking ridges, the upward movement of the chair will be cushioned bythe fact that the chair can continue to move further upward even thoughthe tractor cab has come to a stop by the fact that the pistons cancontinue to move upward drawing air from the tank into the cylinders andwith the air in the cylinder portion on the opposite side of the pistonheads escaping out through the holes or ports 80 and 81. However, theair will tend to equalize force of the movement bring the tractor chairgradually to a halt in its upward movement and cause it to return to itsoriginal position. Since only a restricted amount of air can escape fromthe ports 80 and 81 which slows the upward movement of the pistons andchair. Also, the weight of the operator and the chair act as a majorfactor as the chair moves upward relative to the cab to gradually bringthe chair and operator to a halt in its upward movement and will act togradually bring the chair and operator back down to their position shownin FIS. 4 and 5 by the weight of the operator and the chair pushing thepistons downward gradually compressing air back into the tank.

The urging of band springs 76, 77, and 75 will also act to graduallystop the upward movement of the chair and bring the chair back down toits position shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

It has been found that a reservoir tank of approximately 21/2 galloncapacity is quite adequate with approximately 60 lbs. of air therein tomaintain the chair in its suspended position shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 andcushion the movement of the operator while he is seated in the chair,when said operator has a weight of approximately 180 lbs. and the aircylinders have a diameter (I.D.) of approximately two inches and apiston stroke of approximately 12 inches.

If the operator's weight is less than 180 lbs., the air pressure in thetank can be adjusted by having the operator sit in the chair whileanother person allows air to escape from the reservoir tank through thecheck valve, to cause the seat, with the operator seated thereon, andthe pistons to move downward until they reach the intermediate positionshown in FIGS. 4 and 5 at which time no further air will be allowed toescape.

If the operator weighs more than 180 lbs. the air pressure can beadjusted in the tank by having the operator sit in the chair whileanother person pumps air into the reservoir tank through the check valveto raise the chair and pistons until they reach the intermediateposition shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, at which time no additional air will bepumped into the tank.

Once the chair has been adjusted for a certain weight operator, it hasbeen found that the air reservoir tank and cylinders will maintain thatpressure for months while the chair is in use by the operator by hisoperating the tractor. There is no need to pump in additional air tomaintain the pressure if the hose connection and cylinders are in goodworking order and properly connected.

Thus it will be seen that a novel tractor chair cushioning device hasbeen provided which will cushion the upward and downward movement of thechair relative to the tractor while the operator is seated in the chairand while the tractor is traveling over and between ridges which causesudden stopping of an upward and downward movement of the tractor; thatthe cushioning action provides a pleasant cushioning ride for theoperator seated in the tractor even though the tractor itself isstopping abruptly in its movement either upward or downward in a jarringmovement; and that the device may be easily adjusted for people ofdifferent weights.

It will be obvious that various changes and departures may be made tothe invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, andaccordingly, it is not intended that the invention be limited to thatspecifically described in the specification as illustrated in thedrawing, but only as set forth in the appended claims wherein:

What is claimed is:
 1. A tractor chair cushioning device comprising atractor chair for mounting in a tractor cab having a floor and ceiling,a pair of fluid actuated cylinders, each comprising a piston andcylinder portion with said piston, having a piston head slidable in saidcylinder portion with one end of the cylinders rotatably mounted to theceiling, with the cylinders extending downward in spaced relation, andwith the other ends of the cylinders rotatably mounted to the chair onopposite sides of the chair, a fluid pressure reservoir, means tointroduce fluid under pressure into the reservoir fluid hose line meansconnecting said cylinder portions to said pressure reservoir, tocontract the cylinders and pistons relative to one another to place thepiston head in an intermediate position in the cylinder portion underfluid pressure to thereby suspend the chair spaced off the floor underfluid pressure and cushion the movement of the chair in either directionupward and downward when the seat is weighted down by an operator of thetractor seated in the chair, cushioning means to cushion the movement ofthe chair horizontally to the side.
 2. A tractor chair cushioning deviceaccording to claim 1 wherein said means to intorduce fluid into thepressure reservoir includes a check valve operable to allow additionalfluid to be introduced into the reservoir, and to allow fluid to escapefrom the reservoir to adjust the fluid pressure in the cylinders tocorrespond to the weight of the operator seated in the chair.
 3. Atractor chair chusioning device to cushion an operator's chair inrelation to a tractor's cab compartment when riding over bumpy ground,comprising a box-like tractor cab compartment having a roof and a floorwith side walls connecting the floor and roof together, an operator'schair comprising a horizontal panel serving as a seat member and anupwardly and rearwardly inclined panel serving as a back rest, saidupwardly and rearwardly inclined panel having its lower end attached tothe rearward edge of said horizontal panel, at least three cushioningand suspension means to cushion and suspend said chair in spacedrelation above the floor and beneath the roof of the cab and in spacedrelation to the side walls, said cushioning and suspension meansconprising a first pair of elongated elastic suspension means, a pair offluid actuated cushioning cylinders, a second elongated elasticcushioning means, said first pair of suspension means extending abovethe chair toward the roof of the compartment with their upper endsattached to the compartment adjacent the roof in laterally spacedrelation to one another, with lower ends spaced from one another andattached to opposite lateral sides of the horizontal seat member panelto elastically suspend the operator's chair from the roof of the cab,said pair of actuated cushioning cylinder members being beneath thechair and retractable and extendable relative to one another withcushioning action in either direction, said pair of cylinder membershaving their lower ends attached to the floor of the cab by a swivelconnection at a location centrally between the front and rear edges ofthe horizontal panel and spaced outward from beneath the horizontal seatpanel in laterally spaced relation to one another, said cylinders beinginclined upward and laterally inward toward one another and having theupper ends attached to the laterally opposite side edges of the seatmember of the chair by a swivel connection at a location centrallybetween the front and rear edges of the horizontal seat member, toprovide a cushioning means for the chair from the floor beneath thechair, a second elongated elastic suspension means beneath the chairhaving its rearward end attached to the seat member of the chair andprojecting forward and downward at an angle beyond the forward edge ofthe chair to the front of the cab with its front end attached to thefloor of the cab to cushion the chair against rearward movement, saidfirst pair of elongated cushioning and suspension means, said cushioningcylinders, and said second elastic suspension means, acting together toplace the chair in entirely suspended spaced cushioned relation to thecompartment including the floor, roof, and side walls of thecompartment.
 4. A farm equipment chair cushioning device for cushioningan operator's chair on a farm equipment vehicle relative to the floorand ceiling of the farm vehicle comprising a piston and cylinder portionwith said piston having a piston head slidable in said cylinder, saidcylinder means having linkage means forming an elongated linkagesuspension connection between the chair and ceiling with said linkageand cylinder means suspending the chair from the ceiling and spaced offthe ground, said suspension connection being adjustable in length inresponse to the position of the piston relative to the cylinder tothereby adjust the position of the chair relative to the floor, a fluidpressure reservoir means to intorduce fluid under pressure into thereservoir fluid hose line and means connecting said cylinder portion tosaid reservoir, to shift the cylinder and piston portions relative toone another to place the piston in an intermediate position in thecylinder under fluid pressure to thereby suspend the chair under fluidpressure spaced off the floor and cushion the movement of the chair ineither an upward or downward position relative to the floor when theseat is weighted down by the operator of the vehicle seated in thechair, cushioning means to cushion the movement of the chairhorizontally to the side.